Citations and the Library

Well, I don' know about anyone else in this class, but I am so thankful for the practice with citing a resource. I know that I am not very good at this and I definitely needed the help. Hopefully my "Works Cited" page won't be a major downside to my paper. I hope to continue to gain resources as the semester goes on.
Speaking of that, I went to the library sometime this past week (I can't recall which day it was.) and picked up a bunch of books that will hopefully be helpful to my need for more resources as well as for my research. I think I must have spent at least an hour and a half browsing through their history section, then their cultural section and finally their musical section. There were a few songbooks but none of which were bluegrass. By the time I had finished pulling books off the shelves and putting some back, I had only eight books. I say only eight, but believe me, that was plenty. When I picked up the books, I had to hold them with my arms fully extended, not just because of the weight but also because of how tall the stack was. (They weren't the thinest books around, let me tell you.) I am so glad that I decided to drive to the library rather than walk from our house. It's less than a mile away but the way back is all uphill and I didn't exactly feel like carrying all those books back home.

Update on Essay

Well, I certainly have been busy this week. Wednesday to Carbondale, Thursday and Friday in Columbia, MO, Saturday with homework, Sunday in St. Louis and what is there to show? Very little. I have not had much time to do anything. I have however sent an e-mail/interview to my violin teacher about some of the top violins/fiddles. In the email, I asked her about what the top brands are, what the prices are, and why people tend to buy them used.
I do know of some brands such as Bellafina, Doreli, Florea, Strunal and Suzuki. Violins/fiddles tend to be priced according to how well they are made, when they were made, and the quality of sound. Often times, the cheaper the violin is, the less quality you may have. In most cases, you get what you pay for.
Although, there are times when you may see a fiddle for sale online and it seems like a good buy according to the price and description. At these times, it is best to see what the brand is, and where you are buying it from. I personally believe that it is best to buy a fiddle at a store where they allow you to try it out. The best way to decide on which fiddle to buy is usually by the sound. If you like the sound and weight of the fiddle, and the price is fairly decent, then you pretty much can't go wrong.

Temporary Setback

I went up to the Bluegrass Shack last night. I got there and presented my letter and asked if I could take pictures also. After receiving permission I then asked when the jam would start. Chris Talley, the manager, said that it wouldn't be this week, but next week. After driving for an hour to get there I was pretty upset, as you can imagine. However, I decided that this would be a good opportunity to look for a new violin, books, and gear. The employees were all very kind and helpful and the prices were reasonable. I asked about a violin pickup and an employee showed me a couple. See that neither were what I was looking for, I asked him about a specific brand. He said that he hadn't heard of it but that he would check it out and get one for the store so that I could try the different pickups on my violin and choose which one I liked best. He also said that if I were to find an item cheaper someplace else, that they would beat that price. All in all I had a good time.
There's more that happened but I'll just let you read about it in my next paper.

~Kira